Photograph of the exterior of Pontypridd Synagogue, together with members of the congregation, 1920-1930s
Description
Black and white photograph of the exterior of Pontypridd Synagogue, Cliff Terrace. The photograph shows approximately 30 men, mostly members of the congregation, standing at the front entrance of the synagogue. The date of the photograph is likely to be 1920-1930s.
A synagogue was first founded in Pontypridd in 1867, when a school room was converted into a place of worship, but the Jewish community dates back to at least the 1840s. Although the membership of the congregation remained small, the congregation established their own section in the Glyntaff Cemetery in the 1890s and built a synagogue in Treforest in 1895. The congregation was dissolved in 1978 and the Wood Road synagogue was sold and converted to flats.
Sources:
'The History of the Jewish Diaspora in Wales' by Cai Parry-Jones (http://e.bangor.ac.uk/4987);
JCR-UK/JewishGen (https://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/community/val1_tredegar/index.htm);
Jewish Year Book (JYB), 1896-1929.
Depository: Glamorgan Archives.
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Comments (2)
Submitted by judith a tobin on Mon, 24/08/2020 - 13:42
I have a copy of this photo with 2 men marked by my late Aunt Maidie Cohen who was born and raised in Pontypridd where she was a teacher. She has marked the 6th (25) man from the right (with the grey/brown trilby) as my grandfather Benzion (known as Benjamin Cohen). she appears to have marked the man on the extreme right with the top hat and gloves (30) in his right hand, as Solly Stone who was my grandfather's brother in law and my great uncle. I was born in Pontypridd and lived in Hawthorn but we moved to Cardiff when I was 18 months old. My father Solomon Cohen had 3 pharmacies; 2 in Pontypridd where he worked all his life - The Old Bridge Pharmacy and The Fountain pharmacy (one was at 64 Taff Street), and a shop in Treforest. He told tales of Tom Jones being a regular customer as a young man.
Submitted by Jewish History… on Fri, 11/09/2020 - 10:09
Many thanks for this: it's always very satisfying when users of the site add further details to those we already have. We're actively researching the Jewish community in Pontypridd for our current project - if you think you'd be able to provide more information please feel free to get in touch: email details can be found in the Contact Us part of our website at https://jhasw2018.wixsite.com/news
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